Sufjan Stevens Writes “Missouri” Music Album
FairCityNews.com | Jul 21, 2010 | Comments 0
Springfield, MO – Indie-pop/folk musician Sufjan Stevens has announced that he is continuing his “50 States Project” with an upcoming concept album about the state of Missouri. In an attempt to write and release an album about each state, Stevens will follow his “Greetings from Michigan!” and “Come on Feel the Illinoise” albums with “Missouri Loves Company.”
“I’m trying to knock out all of the Midwest before I start writing about the ‘good states,’” Stevens said in an interview, “and Missouri is the obvious choice for the next album. There are just enough traits and information to work with lyrically. I am really going to need some inspiration before I take on the rest of the Midwest. Like, Kansas, for example—I mean, I’m going to need a lot of time to figure out how make that state interesting to anyone!”
Stevens has reportedly been conducting research on Missouri almost constantly for the album, using sources such as Harry Truman biographies, the Springfield News-Leader, and wikipedia. “Missouri,” like the other state albums, will have include themes such as history, politics, serial killers, religion, geographic features, [night] zombies, and Springfield being a very common name for a city.
Stevens has a particular style of titling songs, and continues this with the new album. Some of the known song titles include: “Three Cheers for Meth!!!”, “Harry Truman Was a True Man though not Hairy,” “Noah’s Arch,” and “T.S. Elliot, George Washington Carver, and Rush Limbaugh Walk into a Bar…”
Stevens has said he will kick off the “Is it Pronounced ‘Missourah’ or “Missouree’?” Tour this fall at Juanita K. Hammons Hall for the Performing Arts.
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